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Monolith appears in Vancouver Island yard

Item in Courtenay showed up on Wikipedia list for a little while
23803550_web1_2101016-CVR-Monolith
The monolith showed up in the Courtenay yard just before Christmas. Photo by Mike Chouinard

One of the more unusual trends in an unusual year was the appearance of monoliths in late 2020.

It started with the report of one that showed up, or was at least only first seen, in a remote Utah canyon. In its wake came appearances of monoliths all over the world, along with a flurry of memes referencing everything from 2001: A Space Odyssey to the Who’s Next album cover.

Now, Courtenay is home to a monolith, at least for a little while, as one turned up in the yard of Willemar Avenue and 13th Street at what is often known as the ‘Halloween House.”

“It’s quite a well-known house,” says Karen Day, who lives there.

Earlier in 2020, Day held a Ministry of Silly Walks at her place to brighten up their neighbourhood, with some people even driving by to take pictures.

As to the latest addition, a couple of people, she says, have asked her who put the monolith in the yard.

“I personally didn’t put it there,” she says.

Day is a local artist and says she is known as the ‘Pink Witch’ or the ‘Willemar Witch.’

“I don’t have any problem with those terms,” she says. “I like my street cred.”

She is glad the object is bringing some colour and whimsy to people’s lives, especially during the gloomy winter and through what has been such a challenging year for so many people, and she hopes it will help a few look at the world in a different light.

“What does it mean? I believe it means we are all one here and let’s be kind,” she says. “There’s so much doom and gloom…. I just think it adds a lot of hope to people and puts a smile on their face.”

The local monolith made a brief appearance in Wikipedia under an entry for List of 2020 Monoliths, and she hopes it will make a return appearance. The page outlines the case of the one found in the Utah canyon, then lists off others that have shown up mysteriously in locations from Morocco to India to Paraguay. Monoliths have appeared in recent weeks in locations across Canada, from Vancouver to Dartmouth. N.S. The object in her yard has also been posted on other world monolith group pages.

When asked what she thinks the monolith is really all about, Day has her meaning but adds she is not sure. “Who knows what it means? Everyone’s going to interpret what they want out of it.”



mike.chouinard@comoxvalleyrecord.com

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